Against The Odds: 1974 - 1982

UMe / Numero Group released this 2022 comprehensive, archival anthology with 52 songs, 36 of which were previously unreleased tracks or B-sides, plus session outtakes and/or demos.

The “super deluxe collector’s edition” includes Blondie’s first six studio albums and four vinyl records of outtakes and rarities. Its book of liner notes has new band-member interviews, a 120-page annotated discography, plus bonus extras. For fans who own the albums and just want the rarities, Numero offers that option on either vinyl or CD with a smaller version of the same liner notes.

Blondie is a Group! hailed the merch for their April 1978 gigs, when the 5-member band (give or take 1 or 2, time-wise) had an underground following in the U.S. (especially in their hood, NYC), after two critically lauded records and hits outside their turf: the UK and Australia.

Debbie Harry adamantly claimed Blondie’s music was new wave, given the retro-girl-group underpinnings and cover-songs. Their style was a signature mix of proto-punk’s DIY eclectic ethos.

Many Blondie fans accused the band of “selling out” when “Heart of Glass” blew up the charts; it was, after all, considered “disco”. But the song was written and recorded in Blondie’s non-disco esthetic, as demonstrated on this set three times: first, as “The Disco Song” (but sounds more ska or reggae-ish), then “Once Had a Love (Betrock Demo)”. The electronic treatment the song got was an idea by hit producer Mike Chapman who made the album [Parallel Lines] a smash for the band. Even before that, a third version of the song is on this set, “Once Had a Love (Mike Chapman Demo)”, and a fourth version is a remix by guitarist and songwriter Chris Stein.

25 of these tracks are from Blondie’s high profile “cult-phase”, which yielded their first two albums. It was the next three records and the single “Call Me”“ that made Blondie platinum. Their 1982 sixth album did not go over so well ("The Hunter”).